Ducks in a Pond

Updated on September 07, 2010
J.S. asks from Ellijay, GA
10 answers

I live on a pond and want to put ducks on it to enhance it..are they good for the pond and the environment? I think I will get slack from homeowners association so I want to be orepared..I may put them there in the middle of the night..I have asked the other people on the pond and they don't seem to care..I have 2 other people to ask...we have geese and they make a MESS...I am trying to get rid of them..we have never lived in a HOA before and I am spoiled ..we did whatever we wanted to do on our 50 acres....we are trying to get rid of the geese............I think ducks are cleaner but I may be wrong......

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N.B.

answers from Toledo on

Why put them out? They'll just fly away. Feed them and you can attract them to the area. Once you get a few coming around, all it takes is for some to build a nest. then generations will come back. As long as no one swims in the water.

1 mom found this helpful

More Answers

S.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

Is the pond "owned" by the community?
Is there a county or local ordinance
that regulates maintenance of natural places?

The fact that you are thinking of putting the ducks out
in the middle of the night suggests you may be concerned
that this may not be a good thing to do.

BTW, the ducks are NOT going to keep quiet
while you put them out there.

If your county has a department of . . . . .
rural affairs? environment? fresh water ecology?
something in that general area,
it would be a good idea to talk to someone there
before you buy the ducks.

There is a short story by T.C. Boyle about what happens
when a simple change is made to the fauna of an island.
One of the funniest things I have ever read.

S.

4 moms found this helpful

T.N.

answers from Albany on

This is an interesting question, can you just 'put' ducks on a pond? I thought they naturally migrated to and from the same areas every year. If so, where would you get the ducks? Will they stay once you put them there? If so, will you be prepared to take care of them? Some people do not like ducks as their feces can be excessive and cause bacteria in the water, also people FEEDING said ducks can cause effect the natural circle of life in and around the pond. Also if neighbors close to the pond have swimming pools, they may expect to see ducks in their pools as well. I would probably spend sometime on a lot of online research, print it all out, and beprepared to state your case to the NA!

2 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Redding on

Ducks on a pond. What a lovely visual image.
However....if you are thinking of sneaking them, I think you know it might not be best to do that.
Ducks are great, but they're noisy and they're messy and personally, I wouldn't want any in my backyard. My sister had ducks and chickens and they loved the eggs, but the mess was incredible. They had to get rid of the ducks because they could fly over the fence and the roosters had to be dispatched due to complaints about the crowing from the neighbors.
Sounds like you have to take your neighbors into consideration and even if they say it's fine, you still need permission.

I wouldn't proceed until you know it's okay.
Just my opinion.

1 mom found this helpful

K.M.

answers from Redding on

Ducks are VERY messy. They leave their poop everywhere around and in the pond. I'd think twice about adding them to the pond unless it's a natural pond where the water is continually flowing and purifying itself :)

1 mom found this helpful
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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

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A.H.

answers from New York on

ducks arent' truely bad it's the geese that are bad.. they ruin the water and the area around the pond... they poop everywhere... look up all you can find out about ducks and geese on line.. good luck... i love ducks.. the only thing that may be better is to put them here in the spring.. so they will stay longer.. if you put them in now.. they may fly south soon.... and not come back.. where if you put them in the spring.. they will probably stay until end of fall...

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Ducks are as bad as geese. Geese will chase kids and ducks wiil too, but not as bad as geese. Both can be interesting, but you're better off without either one.

Good luck to you and yours.

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I'm not sure if you mean decoys or live ducks. Decoys might attract wild ducks, but if there is not a lot of cover (tall grass) or there are dogs in the area, then it might not work. And many people don't like tall grass around a pond because it could also harbor snakes. During migration times, even many small run off ponds attract Canadian geese. Decoy ducks might fall under the 'pink flamingo' rules in your HOA - they don't like plastic birds for the most part. If you try decoys, make a point of replacing them every year. They weather and look terrible after awhile.
I can't think how you would keep live ducks (clip their wing feathers to keep them from flying away, keep them in a chicken/duck coop/run? Trust me - it's a good bet you are not zoned for it).
At any rate, live ducks and geese seem so pretty, but it will surprise you how quickly your yard can fill up with goose poop. (Swans are very territorial. Some places introduce swans so they chase off geese who can multiply really quickly. The trouble there is, swans will attack people in their territory, too so that idea can backfire.) Sure it breaks down quickly, but it's a mess it you are tracking it around with your shoes.

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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

My daughter's friend in NC had ducks. THey're gross.

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